Road Trip
by DreamWvr73
Summary: MacGyver and Gillian have 4 weeks off and decide to hit the road.


Gillian was sitting in the passenger side of the Corvette; she had her arms crossed over her chest. They were at a gas station in some very tiny town called Hyder in Arizona. The couple had gotten up at 6 am and MacGyver had literally shanghaied his wife, put her and their suitcase in the Corvette, grabbed the keys and left. Gillian had no clue as to where they were going and why, all she knew was that they were close to Phoenix. The tiny gas station was in the middle of the desert, the blazing sun was pounding down on her. Mac had taken the top off so they could enjoy the breeze and the sun as they drove. They both had dressed casual and comfortable for the drive, tank tops and shorts. 

MacGyver jumped back into the driver's seat, he went to turn the key only to discover it wasn't in the ignition. He touched the pockets of his khaki shorts thinking he had taken them with him, but no. Since there was only one other occupant of the car it was obvious where the keys had disappeared to.

"Gillian where are the keys?"

His wife turned towards him. "They are under my butt and that is where they are going to stay until you tell me where we are going and why."

MacGyver took off his shades. "Give me the keys Gillian."

"No! We aren't moving one mile until you come clean Mac; you dragged me out of bed this morning at the crack of dawn. We threw some clothes in our suitcase and you tossed it in the back of the Corvette and for the past 5 hours we have been driving. I want to know where we are going and I want to know right now."

Mac sighed, he did owe her an explanation, she was right, he had basically kidnapped her. He reached across her and opened the glove box, he took out a letter and handed it to her.

"Here, this should explain everything."

Gillian uncrossed her arms; she opened the letter and read it out loud.

_"Dear MacGyver,_

_It's been a while since we've seen you, why don't you pack some clothes and come on over. We look forward to seeing you Mac. _

_Love Bill & Laura."___

Gillian folded the letter back up and handed it to him. "Bill and Laura? As in Farren? Your old hellfighting friend?"

Mac nodded. "Yeah, I got that letter during the week and I arranged with Pete for us to be off for the next 4 weeks so we could go see them."

"Why didn't you just tell me this in the first place?"

"I thought we could drive, take our time getting there and use it is as a sort of mini vacation. I wanted it to be a surprise."

Gillian sighed and put her arms around his neck. "Mac did you really think I wasn't going to ask where we were going and why?"

"No I knew you would I was just hoping you wouldn't ask so soon." 

Gillian gave him a small kiss. "So where do Bill and Laura live?"

"Memphis."

She got very excited and her face brightened. "We're going to Tennessee?"

"Yeah."

"That's great! I've always wanted to go see it!"

MacGyver smiled. "Really? So you aren't mad?"

"Well I wasn't thrilled but I knew there was a good reason for this trip I was just getting tired of waiting for you to tell me."

"So can I have my keys back?"

Gillian lifted up her behind and took out the keys, she handed them to her husband. "Here you go, nice and warm."

"Thanks." He put his shades back on and started up the Corvette, he put it in drive and they were on their way again.

"So tell me about Bill and Laura."

They were speeding down Interstate 40 heading for their first stop over, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

MacGyver was driving and he turned towards his wife.

"Well I met Bill about 10 years ago. I was in Sumatra working on an oil well, working with oil is always tricky business it can just burst into flame for no reason."

"Did it?"

"Yeah, the whole derrick was burning, so they called in Bill and is crew to come put it out."

Gillian took her shades out of her purse and slipped them on, she tucked a stray hair behind her ear.  "And ever since then you guys have been good friends."

Mac smiled at his wife. "Yeah, I haven't seen him in three years but we always keep in touch with each other."

"Does he know about us getting married?"

"No, I wanted to surprise them with that. They always told me I would never get married."

Gillian smiled. "Well they were wrong though, weren't they? What about Laura?"

"She's great. She's one tough lady, you both should get along really well."

Gillian nodded. "Think so?"

MacGyver turned away from the road and looked at her. "Yeah, you both have a tendency to kick my butt. I know you'll get along just fine."

They drove to Gallup New Mexico, that was the halfway point between Phoenix and Santa Fe. They picked up some sub sandwiches and the two of them decided to trade places. This was the first time Gillian was going to drive the Corvette, she was a little nervous about driving it. 

Mac finished his sandwich and put his napkin in the brown paper bag the sandwiches had come in. He turned and looked at his wife. "Are you sure you want to do some driving? I'm not tired; I could probably make it all the way to Santa Fe."

Gillian threw her trash in the paper bag. "I'm sure; it isn't fair for you to do all the driving."

"You do know this car has a lot of power, right?"

His wife looked at him. "Of course I know I'm the one that bought it, look Mac if you don't want me to-"

"No, no that's fine; if you want to drive it I have no problems with it."

"Good! Well come on let's trade!"

Mac got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side, he opened the door for his wife and extended his hand. "Madam?"

Gillian smiled. "Aren't you a sweetie pie?" She took his hand and he helped her out of the car, he patted her behind. Gillian turned around and looked at him; he simply gave her a wide smile.

"Someone is feeling frisky?"

He climbed into the passenger side of the car and closed the door. "Yeah actually I do." He leaned back in the seat and tucked his arms under his head. "Four weeks Gill, four weeks of no work, no assignments, no nothing! It's going to be so great to see Bill and Laura again."

Gillian got into the driver's side and fastened her seatbelt. "It is going to be great; we are going to get to see Tennessee. I heard it's really beautiful."

"We'll find out."

Gillian sighed and turned the key and the powerful engine roared to life. "Okay are you ready?"

MacGyver fastened his seat belt and took his glasses out of his pocket, he slipped them on. "Ready!"

Gillian put the gear shift into reverse and backed the black car up, she put it in drive and hit the gas. The car took off faster than she thought and she eased up a little and stopped.  "Wow it is powerful."

"I told you it was, just relax, loosen up; it's just another car, think of it like the Jeep."

Gillian looked at her husband sideways. "The Jeep? Mac, thinking about a large fireball is not going to make me relax."

MacGyver nodded. "Okay bad example, how about the Nomad? It's got some pep to it, if you can drive that you can definitely handle this."

"You sure?"

He gave her a nod. "Positive."

Gillian took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay, let's go."

She put the Corvette back in drive and gently hit the gas; the car started to speed up and she sighed. 

"There you go, you're doing good."

Gillian started to relax, they entered the freeway and she sped up and looked at the speedometer, when it reached 70 she stopped pressing the gas. She took a quick glance at her husband; he was looking at the road up ahead.

"That's the speed limit right? 70?"

Mac turned towards her. "Yeah. Although I was going a little faster once in a while, in this car you can't help it."

Gillian smiled. "Wow this is great Mac; I can see why you love this car."

Mac nodded. "It's the best birthday present I ever got."

"I'm glad you love it so much."

He leaned back in the seat and sighed. "Here I am, in the nice warm sun, with my best girl, on our way to see some old friends. This is definitely what I would call a vacation. All I need now is a nice cold bottle of apple juice."

Gillian slowed the car down and pulled it over.

"What? What's wrong?"

She leaned down and reached behind the passenger side seat, she took out a plastic bag and took something out of it.

Mac was looking at her. "What are you doing?"

Gillian smiled at him. "Close your eyes Darling Husband-O-Mine, I have something for you."

MacGyver did what she asked and closed his eyes. "Okay, they're closed."

She had a bottle of apple juice in her hand; she had gotten it when she bought their sandwiches. She looked at her husband and gently pressed the cold bottle against his thigh. Mac yelped, the bottle was freezing; he opened his eyes, and saw what was against his leg.

"Apple juice!" He picked it up and looked at his wife. "You are so sweet Gill." He leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks."

Gillian smiled at him. "You're very welcome."

Mac opened the juice and took a drink of it; he offered it to his wife. "Juice?"

She took it from him and had a sip. "Thanks." She handed it back to him. "Shall we continue this little road adventure?"

MacGyver had another drink of his juice. "Yeah, let's go."

Gillian put the Corvette in drive and got back on the freeway.

It was dusk when Gillian pulled the Corvette up to the Southwestern Inn; it was just past Santa Fe, not too far away from where they had their archaeological dig. 

"I'll go rent a room, be right back."

MacGyver nodded. "Can you get a room close to the pool?"

Gillian smiled. "You want to go swimming?"

"Sure, I brought my trunks."

"Okay be right back."

Gillian picked up her purse from behind the passenger seat and got out of the car; she closed the door and walked into the office.  The hotel was a three story adobe building, it was dark beige. Mac got out and stretched his legs a little; he saw a wrought iron gate and walked over to it. It was the swimming pool, it was Olympic size and because of its location up against the building, most of it was in the shade. 

Gillian walked back out of the office, she had her key in her hand. She walked over to her husband and looked at the pool. "Nice pool."

"Yeah, what room did you get?"

"105, it's right here, the only room that is in front of the pool. All we have to do is go out the sliding glass door and the gate is right there. We don't even have to move the Corvette."

"Okay, I'll get the suitcase and put the top back on and then I'll be right in."

Gillian nodded and walked around the corner, the door was there and she unlocked it. She opened the door and a blast of ice cold air hit her. 

The room was a nice size; there was a queen size bed with a dark beige comforter in the middle of the room. There were two wooden nightstands on either side of the bed. There was a dresser with 6 drawers at the foot of the bed and a large black television. The room had paintings of Indian scenes on all of the walls. She took off her shades and set them and her purse down on the dresser. 

MacGyver came in carrying the suitcase and set it down at the foot of the bed.  "Nice room."

He plopped down on the bed and stretched out on it. "What time does the pool close?"

Gillian kicked off her shoes and took her keys out of her pocket and tossed them on the dresser. "The manager said it closes at midnight."

"Great! Let's go for a swim!" He got off of the bed and picked up their suitcase. He opened it and got out his bright red trunks.

His wife was watching him. "Now?"

"Yeah why not? The pool is shady and then we can come back and order some dinner."

"Okay, why not."

MacGyver went into the bathroom to change; Gillian got her swim suit out of the suitcase and closed it.

Mac opened the sliding glass door and stepped out onto the concrete. His wife was right; the gate was right there. He closed the glass door behind him and opened the gate. There was no one around, the hotel itself was almost totally empty not another car in sight, this fact didn't bother him a bit. He got a running start and jumped into the water. He surfaced and smoothed his hair back, the water was warm and it felt so cool and refreshing after a long day on the road.  "Gillian come on! What are you doing in there?"

Gillian heard her husband yelling for her, she finished brushing her hair and put it in a pony tail. She was wearing a dark blue bikini. She opened the glass door and saw him already in the water, she closed it behind her.

"I'm coming Mr. Impatient."

She walked through the gate and stood looking at the water. "Is it warm?"

MacGyver raised an eyebrow when he saw his wife. "Nice bikini and yes the water is warm."

Gillian sat down on the edge of the pool and stuck her legs in. "Hey it is."

He swam over to her. "Aren't you coming in?"

"Yeah, I just thought I would sit here for a bit first."

MacGyver got a wicked grin on his lips. Gillian saw it and knew what he was going to do, sure enough he tried to grab her legs and pull her in but she pulled them out of the water fast. "Don't even think about it!"

The water was only 4 feet deep where he was; he stood up and came out of the water. "Don't think about what Gillian?"

She backed away from her dripping wet husband. "Mac, don't do it! You just get back in the pool."

He wiped the water from his face. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm quite sure you do, I'll get in the pool in a minute okay?"

"Okay."  He turned around to go back in the water.

Gillian moved one step towards him. "Go on, get back in."

"Oh I will. I just have to do something first."

"What's that?"

He turned back around and Gillian saw what was in his eyes, she tried to run but he grabbed her around the waist.  His wife screamed. "Mac no! Don't do it! You'll be sorry!" She was struggling against his hold around her waist; she tried to plant her feet but every time she did he lifted her higher so her feet weren't touching the ground. 

"Come on Gillian its fun!"

He walked her over to the edge of the water. "No Mac don't throw me in! I won't speak to you for the rest of the night and you can forget about anything else!"

That stopped him in his tracks; he set her down and turned her around. "You're kidding right?"

"No, I'm not."

She moved away from the edge, he was now the one near the water, he sighed. "Oh all right, I won't throw you in."

Gillian smiled. "Good!" She suddenly pushed him on his chest and he fell backwards into the water, he came up and shook his hair back. 

"Hey you tricked me!"

Gillian nodded. "Yeah I got you good!"

Mac popped out of the water and went after her, she tried to run but of course he had longer legs so it was easy for him to catch her.  He had her by the waist again as he got close to the edge of the pool.

Gillian was laughing hard as she tried to get free of her husband's grip. He wouldn't let up though, he had her and she was going for a swim.

"All right Woman you're going to get it now!" 

He tried to throw her in but she grabbed him and they both went into the water.

Gillian broke the surface and wiped her face, she smoothed her hair back. Mac was smiling at her and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh you are going to be so _sorry you did that!"_

She ducked down underneath the water and Mac started squirming. "Hey! What are you doing?"

Gillian came back up holding a pair of red trunks in her hand. "Seems you lost something Mr. MacGyver."

Mac's eyes got huge and his mouth dropped open. "Umm...can I have those back?"

She shook her head at him. "No I don't think so."

He tried to reach for them but she got out of the pool fast, she was dangling them over him. "Come on out and get them Mac."

"Now you know I'm not going to do that!"

Gillian was laughing. "So, are you sorry you did that?"

MacGyver's face was as red as the trunks his wife was holding hostage. "Yes I'm very sorry."

"Are you going to throw me in the pool ever again?"

He sighed, he had to admit defeat because there was no way he was getting out of that water to get his trunks. "No."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

She tossed him his trunks and he ducked down underneath the water and popped back up. "I can't believe you did that!" She dove back into the water and put her arms around his neck. "Poor Baby, do you think I'm mean?"

MacGyver was almost pouting. "Yes you're mean! You won't let me have any fun!"

Gillian pressed her lips against his kissing him deeply. "Sweetie you have all the _fun you want, it's the wet kind that I am putting a stop too."_

She put her hands back around him and touched his waistband. "But then again, there are all sorts of ways to have fun in water."

Mac knew what was on her mind. "We can't."

She smiled at him. "Why not? There is no one around." She ran her hand down his chest. "Think of it as a way for me to make it up to you for stealing your trunks."

MacGyver nodded his head, his hands were on her back and he started to untie her top. "Well if you insist."

Gillian kissed her husband deeply as they both sunk down and disappeared beneath the water.

The sun went all the way down and it got dark fast. Gillian was on her husband's back, she had her arms around his neck and he was swimming around the pool. "I like this; it's like being on the back of a dolphin."

Mac looked over his shoulder at his wife. "A dolphin? Why not a shark?"

"Because, dolphins are nice, sharks tend to bite."

Mac looked down and saw her arms around his neck, he leaned down and bit her in the arm.

"Ow! Now why did you do that?" She lightly smacked him on the shoulder.

"I'd rather be a shark then a dolphin."

Gillian got off of his back and swam around him, she wrapped her legs around his waist and looked at him. She wiped some of the water off of his face. "I'm having a blast Mac, this was a great idea."

Her husband nodded and smiled at her. "Me too, and yeah it was a good idea. We needed to get away for a while." He put his arms around his wife's neck and kissed her. "You ready to get out and order some dinner?"

Gillian nodded. "Yeah I am, we've probably been in here a couple of hours." She let go of her husband and headed for the pool stairs. "I forgot the towels, be right back."

She wiped her face and shook out her hair; she walked out the gate to the sliding glass doors and went inside their room. She came back out with a large maroon towel around her, and another in her hand for her husband; she walked back over to the pool. "Come on Shark; get out of there before you dissolve."

Mac hopped out of the water and shook himself out, he wiped the hands down his arms. He took the towel from his wife and pressed it against his face. "Thanks." He put the towel around his shoulders and the two of them went in their room.

Gillian was sitting on the bed, she had showered off and had put on a pair of short shorts and a big oversized white t-shirt; it had a cartoon cat on it with big eyes that read Yes I am adorable. 

MacGyver had also showered off. He had put on a pair of black shorts; he was lying with his head in his wife's lap stretched out on the bed. They were watching a movie, the motel had cable and they were watching one of the movie channels. 

Gillian reached down and was running her fingers through her husband's hair. "Getting hungry Mac?"

"Yeah, you said this place has room service right?"

"That's what the manager said; the menu should be over there on the dresser."

MacGyver got up and found the menu; he went back over to the bed and resumed his reclining position. "Let's see, what do I want for dinner."

Gillian tilted the menu back a little. "How about a hamburger?"

"Burger sounds good, what about you?"

"Cheeseburger please."

"Okay." He sat up and picked up the phone off of the nightstand. He found the number for room service and started dialing.

It was almost 11 o'clock; they had eaten their dinner and had pulled back the covers on their bed. Mac had one arm tucked behind his head; Gillian was leaning against his chest. Their science fiction movie was almost over and they were both starting to feel the affects of being on the road all day. Gillian could feel her eyes getting heavy; she put her arm across her husband's waist. "I'm getting tired Mac."

"Me too." The credits started to roll, the movie was over. He picked the remote off of the nightstand and turned it off. He set it back down on the nightstand and turned off the lamp. He sighed as he scooted down a little and put his arms around his wife. 

"We could drive straight through tomorrow."

Gillian yawned widely. "I thought you said you wanted to take your time."

"I do but I'm also excited about seeing Bill and Laura."

"How far is it to Memphis from here?"

"A thousand miles, about 17 hours."

"That's a lot in one day Mac; I don't think we should drive straight. What's the halfway point?"

"Oklahoma City."

"How about we spend the night there?"

MacGyver yawned and closed his eyes. "Okay we'll stay in OK City."

Gillian could tell her was getting tired; she lifted her head and kissed him. "Go to sleep Sweetie."

"I don't think that will be a problem."

She put her head back down and they both closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep.

The couple woke up at 8. They left the hotel and got back on the freeway, it was going to take 9 hours to get to Oklahoma City. MacGyver was back behind the wheel, he had on the test tube t-shirt he had gotten from Johnny and black shorts. Gillian was in a pink sleeveless shirt and white shorts, the top was off again and they were enjoying the sun. She had scooted her seat back as far as it could go and she had her legs stretched out with her feet on top of the dash; her legs needed to get some sun.

MacGyver looked at those nice legs of hers and shook his head. "You know you're distracting me?"

Gillian her shades on, she gave her husband a wide grin. "Am I?"

"Yes, I'd rather look at those gams of yours then the road."

"Really?" She picked up one of his hands from the steering wheel and placed it on her left leg; she pushed his hand down it gently.

"That doesn't help." MacGyver was enjoying the feel of her leg; it was very soft and smooth.

Gillian was feeling rather wicked. "No? I'm so sorry."

Mac touched her leg again and put his hand back on the steering wheel, he turned towards her. "No, you're not."

"You're right."

She moved her seat back to where it was and brought her legs down, she crossed them. "Better? No more distractions?"

"Well I didn't say I didn't like looking but it was hard to keep my eyes on the road."

"I know but I don't want us to have a wreck." Gillian reached over and put her hand on her husband's leg and started rubbing it.

Mac looked down at her hand. "You don't want us to wreck but yet you're doing that."

Gillian smiled at him. "Hey you're lucky I'm not sitting on your lap."

"I couldn't drive with you in my lap."

"I bet you could."

MacGyver pulled the Corvette over and stopped; he took off his sunglasses and looked at her. "I take it you want to try?"

"Yes I do."

Mac licked his lips and pressed them together. "And what do I get if I'm right."

Gillian touched his face gently. "Anything you want."

He nodded slowly. "And I suppose if you are right you want anything too?"

"Right."

They were the only ones on the road for now so what was the harm in trying. "Okay, get over here."

Mac moved his seat back a little and his wife sat side saddle on his lap. "This is dangerous and we are only going to do this for a few minutes, deal?"

"Deal."

He put the Corvette back in drive and they got back on the freeway. There wasn't a whole lot of room but Mac was able to drive just fine. Gillian smiled and kissed his cheek. "See, told you."

They pulled back over and Mac took off his glasses, he kissed his wife. "Okay you were right but it is dangerous and we aren't going to do it."

Gillian climbed off of his lap and sat back down in her seat, she put her seatbelt back on. "Oh I know it is but it is also fun."

Mac put the car back on the road and they took off again.

MacGyver stopped to get gas in Amarillo, Texas; they were halfway to Oklahoma City. Gillian had gone inside to get them some lunch and to pay for the gas. They gas station she was in was pretty modern; they had everything there including groceries. She had gotten a small rotisserie chicken, some potato salad and some juice. She paid for everything and went back out to get into the Corvette. 

Mac finished pumping the gas and went to wash his hands. Gillian climbed into the seat and put the small plastic bag full of supplies at her feet. She crossed her legs and waited for her husband to come out of the bathroom.

"Excuse me Miss."

She turned and saw a rather grungy oil covered man, he had smudges all over his unshaven face. "Yes?"

He had dirty blond hair that looked clumpy, like it hadn't been washed. "I was just wondering if you had any spare change."

"Sure." Gillian reached into her pocket and took out a hundred dollar bill; she pressed it into his hand. "Go have a nice hot meal, it's on me."

The man looked down at it and his eyes got big. "Look ma'am all I wanted was some change, I can't-"

The young woman shook her head. "No, it's okay; you go on and take care of yourself."

MacGyver came back out of the bathroom and saw what was going on; he walked over to the car.

The man saw him and smiled. "Is she your wife?"

Mac gave him a nod. "Yeah she is."

He smiled. "She's a good woman, take care of her."

MacGyver gave him a smile. "Yes sir, I will."

The man reached down and touched Gillian's hand. "Bless you for this."

She patted it. "And to you as well."

He walked away and MacGyver started the Corvette, he watched as the man walked away and went into the store. "What did you give him?"

"A hundred dollar bill."

Mac nodded. "Good, I hope he puts it to good use."

"Oh I think he will." She looked at her husband. "Sure you don't want me to drive?"

"Nah I feel fine, we'll be in Oklahoma City in about 4 hours."

Gillian tore another piece of roasted chicken off of the bone and fed it to her husband.  "So do you have directions for their house?"

MacGyver picked up his juice and drank it. "Yeah, there was a map in with the letter."

"Want any more chicken or potato salad?"

"No thanks, I'm stuffed."

"Me too." She put the lid back on the containers and put everything back in the bag and tucked it behind her seat. 

They saw a sign coming up; Oklahoma City was less than two hours away.

"Seen any hotel signs that have interested you?"

Mac turned and looked at his wife. "No, why?"

Gillian sipped her juice and wiped her mouth. "Because I chose where we stayed last night, so tonight you choose."

"Any place I want?"

"Yeah any place you want."

MacGyver grinned at this. "All right! Well I better start paying attention to those motel signs; I want to stay in some place good."

The place that interested MacGyver was a hotel called the Rustic Inn; it was located in the middle of the woods just outside of Oklahoma City. It was a very unusual motel, instead of rooms it had individual log cabins, each cabin looked like it was straight out of the time of the Pioneers. 

Mac unlocked the door to the dark wooden cabin. He stepped into it and touched the wall; he flipped a switch and a pair of old time lanterns that were hanging overhead turned on.   
"Wow!"

The cabin was a combination of old style and modern style. There was a bed on a log frame in the middle of the room, there was a dresser made of logs at the foot of the bed with a television on top and a telephone. The bathroom was the door a short distance from the bed. The rest of the cabin was filled with antiques from that time period, even an old wood burning stove for heat. 

Gillian walked in and looked around.

"Great, we are spending the night in Abe Lincoln's cabin."

Mac looked at her sideways. "Oh come on Gill it isn't that bad."

She sat down on the bed and bounced on it a little. "Well the bed seems comfortable."

"I'll be right back." MacGyver left to get their bag and to put the top back on the Corvette, he made sure it was locked and came back in. 

Gillian was in the bathroom, it was a modern bathroom complete with shower. She was grateful for that.

"Hey Gill?"

"Yeah?"

She came back out of the bathroom and saw her husband was pretty white, he was breathing hard. "What's wrong?"

He pointed down to his feet and a snake had come out from under the bed and was around his tennis shoes, she swallowed hard. "Oh, I see."

"I'm not afraid of snakes; I just don't like them, especially when they are on my feet. That's an American Copperhead, it's poisonous."

Gillian looked down at the brown snake with the red head. "Yeah, just don't move okay?"

She carefully walked over to where her husband was standing and put her hands around her back. She had a pair of small sharp knives tucked into her belt, she removed one of them. MacGyver saw what was in her hand and he creased his brow. "Where did you get that?"

"Something my father taught me, never go on the road without protection."

The snake was at his feet; she had the small knife in her left hand and flipped it over. "Mac, whatever you do, don't move."

Mac was not happy; he was trying so hard not to even breathe too much. "No problem."

She drew her arm back and closed her eyes briefly. "You have to trust me okay?"

"You know I trust you, what are you going to do?"

"Something else my father taught me. I haven't done it in years but I think I can still do it."

Gillian took one step closer; she had the tip of the blade in her hand. She saw the snake; its head was close to her husband's leg. 

Gillian took a deep breath and raised her arm. She flung the knife; it hit the snake right in the neck and fell over. Gillian walked over to it and picked it up, she took back her knife. 

"I think I'll get rid of this."

MacGyver breathed a huge sigh of relief, he nodded. "Yes, please do."

Gillian took it outside and dumped it in the trash, Mac sat down on the bed and rubbed his face, he was shaking. His wife came back into the cabin and wiped off her knife; she stuck it back in her belt and touched her husband on the shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He pulled on her wrist and moved her in front of him. He put his arms around her waist and hugged her; his head was against her stomach. "Thanks Gill, I owe you one."

Gillian touched his hair. "No you don't."

He looked up at her. "Can you teach me how to do that?"

She smiled widely at him. "Sure."

"Okay Mac, it's all in the wrist."

Gillian had taken out both of her small knives and was showing her husband how to throw them. She had found a flat piece of bark outside and had hung it on the wall. She extended his arm, aiming it towards the target. "Don't use your arm all the way, use it as far as extending it but then use your wrist to throw the knife."

MacGyver nodded. "Okay, let me try."

Gillian stood back and put her hands on her hips. "Go for it."

Mac flipped the knife over, he had the tip of it against his palm; he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He drew his arm back and threw the knife; it went end over end and stuck in the bark. 

Gillian smiled. "Good! Just like that! It takes practice to get accurate but that was good."

MacGyver went over to the target and pulled the little knife out, he was looking at it. "You could have told me you had these with you."

"Well I didn't want you to think I was being paranoid." 

Gillian picked the other knife up and flipped it in her hand; she turned her back to the target. 

"What are you going to do?"

"Practice, can I have both knives?"

MacGyver handed his wife the knife he had, she tucked them into her belt and touched her hands to it. She turned around fast and took them out; she flung both of them at the target. They stuck one near the center and one below it. 

"That was good, let me try."

Gillian took the two knives out of the target; she stuck them both in her belt and unbuckled it. She put it around her husband and took his hands and put them behind him, she touched them to where the knives were. "Feel them? Right here?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, just turn around, grab them and fling them at the target."

MacGyver had his back to the target; he whipped around, grabbed the two small knives out of their hiding place and flung them. The two knives hit the target but they were a little far apart.  
"That was good Mac, like I said it takes practice."

The couple was back on the road at 7 am, this time it was Gillian that got to do the first shift of driving. She had dressed in a blue flowered tank top and white shorts; it was nice and cool that early in the morning.

"We should be there in 7 hours, right Mac?"

MacGyver was in the passenger seat, he had put on a white tank top and khaki shorts, he was looking at the map to his friend's house. "Yeah about 2 o'clock."

Gillian reached out and touched his leg. "Excited?"

Her husband sighed. "I can't wait; it's been so long since I've seen them."

"I can't wait to meet them either."

"Did I ever tell you about the fire he and I put out?"

Gillian shook her head. "No."

Mac leaned back in his seat. "Well this happened 5 years ago. I went to see them and to bring them some geographical reports about the area they were in."

"What area?"

"East Texas."

"So I chopper in and there they are, with this piece of land and a great big derrick. See Gill, finding oil is a process, right before you find oil you'll most likely hit some hydrocarbons first then you keep going and you'll hit oil. Well Bill and Laura found a gas pocket and there was all this gas shooting straight up like a geyser."

Gillian was watching the road; she looked at her husband before focusing on the road. "What caused the fire?"

"A strong breeze and a broken light bulb, it set that gas on fire. You should have seen the flames, this long stream of fire just shooting up. It burned the derrick and a lot of stuff that was around it."

"Sounds scary."

"It was, we decided to put it out ourselves by using some old dynamite and a few other things."

Gillian nodded. "The explosion cuts off the oxygen instantaneously and the fire along with it."

"Right, we used a thermos full of nitroglycerin."

"And the oil?"

MacGyver smiled. "Oh it was there, they hit it big."

"So they are pretty loaded?"

"Yeah, they should be pretty comfortable for the rest of their lives; they gave me a small cut for helping them."

"What did you do with the money?"

"I used it to buy the houseboat."

Gillian drove the Corvette all the way to Little Rock, Arkansas, that was when MacGyver resumed his driving duties. It was now only 2 hours until they got to Memphis, and Mac was counting down the miles. Gillian could tell how excited he was; he looked like he was going to burst at any second. She reached over and touched his knee.

"Relax Mac, we'll get there soon. You look like you're going to explode."

Her husband turned and looked at her, a big smile on his face. "I'm sorry I can't help it."

"I know you are happy about seeing them and I'm sure they are just as excited to see you. Do they know you're coming today or is that part of the surprise?"

"No they don't know, I hope they're home."

"I'm sure they will be, they should know that you're full of surprises."

Gillian grinned at her husband; he just shook his head at her. "Yeah."

She gave his knee another squeeze and a wink.

MacGyver drove the Corvette up to a red brick house; it was a simple two story house with a lush green lawn. His heart was racing as blew the horn and turned off the engine.

"Stay here Gill, okay?"

Gillian nodded. "I will Mac, you go ahead."

He gave her a kiss and got out of the Corvette; he blew the horn again and watched as the white front door opened. A man that could easily be Mac's brother came out. They were the same height but Bill was a little bit heavier, his hair was dark blond with a little grey and was cut short. He had on a red Hawaiian shirt and black shorts. 

Mac got out of the driver's side and started walking fast, the two men saw each other. "Hey Billy boy!"

Bill looked at his friend and shook his head, his friend looked so different. "MacGyver!"

MacGyver ran up to his friend, he was laughing as he hugged him. "Hey long time no see Pal!"

"Yeah it's been what, 3 years?"

They let go of each other and Bill pulled his blond hair. "What's this? Going California native Mac?"

MacGyver touched his friend's stomach, he had a little beer belly. "Oh yeah and what's this? Too many beers?"

Bill put his arm around his friend's shoulder and turned towards the door. "Honey, come on out and look who's here!"

Laura came to the door, she had on jean shorts and t-shirt, her hair still was blond and cropped short. She saw Mac and her mouth dropped open. "Oh my God! Bill are you sure that's Mac?"

MacGyver smiled at her as he took off his shades. "Hi Laura."

Laura saw his face; she shook her head as she hugged her friend hard. "My God Mac you look great!"

Mac lifted her up as he hugged her. "Thanks Darling so do you!"

She pulled back; her hands were on his shoulders. "What did you discover the Fountain of Youth and forgot to tell Bill and me?" She couldn't get over how different her friend looked.

"Now would I do that?"

"Well you've done something."

MacGyver put his arms around both of their shoulders. "Come on down to the car with me for a second."

Bill spotted the Corvette and he whistled. "Nice car Mac."

Laura creased her brow. "Why are we going to the car?"

Mac walked them down the lawn and over to the passenger side of the Corvette, he opened the door and stuck his hand out. 

Gillian took it and stepped out, her husband was smiling widely, he put his arm around her shoulders. "Gillian, I want you to meet two of the greatest friends a guy ever had, Bill and Laura Farren."

He turned to his friends. "Bill, Laura, this is Gillian." He paused and smiled widely. "My wife."

The couple looked at the pretty red headed woman and gasped. They looked at each other, Laura shook her head. "No way, no I always said you'd never get married Mac."

Bill nodded. "Are you saying this pretty lady is your wife?"

Mac lifted his left hand and showed them his ring. "I got proof right here."

Bill looked at Gillian. "Is it true Gillian or is he pulling our legs?"

Gillian turned towards her husband. "Yeah, I'm very proud to say that it's true."

Laura started laughing and hugged the young woman. "I'm _very happy to meet you Gillian."_

Gillian returned the hug. "Me too Laura."

Bill waited for his turn; he also gave her a hug. "A pleasure to meet you Gillian."

"A pleasure for me too Bill, Mac has spent the past two days telling me about both of you."

Laura looked at her friend, she couldn't help but notice how young Gillian was; she raised an eyebrow. "Didn't discover the Fountain of Youth huh?"

MacGyver gave his friend a smile and shrugged. "Maybe."

Laura took Gillian by the arm. "Come on inside, I have some lemonade and snacks. You both must be pretty tired from driving for two straight days, let the men get your luggage out."

MacGyver had to put the top back on the Vette, he took their large suitcase out and Bill picked it up. "Come on Mac let's go get some food."

He closed the passenger side door. "I can take the bag Bill."

Bill put his hand up. "No you can't. You're our guests I'll take the bag." He put his arm across his friend's shoulder as they headed towards the house. "Damn I'm glad you're here Mac."

MacGyver smiled. "Me too Bill."

The inside of the house was mostly marble. The cold white stone was everywhere, the floors were made of it and there were pillars strategically placed around the house. The house was decorated in a simple style. The house was much larger than it appeared on the outside. The living room was to the right, it had a dark red living room set, an entertainment set with a big screen TV.

Mac looked around. "Wow this is big Bill."

"7 thousand square feet."

They walked straight ahead to the kitchen; the marble gave everything a wide open feel to it. They stepped into the kitchen and the floor in there was white tile. The kitchen had an island stove in the middle and dark cherry wood cabinets and dining room table. The whole back of the kitchen was nothing but windows. Gillian was sitting at the dining room table, she smiled at her husband. 

"Look Mac they have a pool." 

He turned towards the big windows and sure enough there was a pool around outside the doors. 

Laura was standing next to the fridge, the counter tops were all white marble. She poured two glasses of lemonade. "Here you go Mac wet your whistle."

"Thanks Laura."

Laura walked over to Gillian and handed one to her. "Here is some nice homemade lemonade Gillian."

The young woman smiled. "Thank you Laura." She sipped it and sighed. "It's good."

MacGyver tucked his shades into his pocket and sat down across from his wife. "That was a long drive."

Bill opened the fridge and got out a snack tray full of little sandwiches and put it in the center of the table. "Why didn't you fly?"

"I don't know I thought it would be more fun to take our time getting here."

Gillian sipped her lemonade. "I didn't even know about this, we got up at 6 am one morning and Mac threw me and our suitcase into the car and we were gone."

The couple got themselves some lemonade and sat down, Laura next to Gillian and Bill next to MacGyver. "That wasn't a nice thing to do Mac."

Gillian nodded. "Thank you Bill."

"I told you where we were going." Mac picked up a sandwich and took a bite.

"Yeah 5 hours later and only because I wouldn't give you back the keys."

Laura started laughing. "Now that sounds like a typical man."

The two men looked at each other. "Uh oh Mac, look out. Laura has an ally now; it's no longer us versus her."

MacGyver nodded. "Yeah I know, the odds are even now." He turned towards his wife and gave her a wink.

"Okay this is your room."

There was a pair of white doors and Laura grabbed the knobs and pulled them open. The foursome stepped inside. The marble made its appearance once again; they walked into this very large room. There was a king size bed in the middle and a television sitting on a small table at the foot of the bed. There was even a small couch and a chair not too far from the bed. There was a pair of white French doors that opened up to a back patio; the pool was just around the corner. At the far end of the room going up a few small steps was a bathtub, it was built into the floor and was big enough for 6 people to take a bath; the faucets were gold.

Gillian walked up the steps and looked at it. "Wow now _that's a tub."_

MacGyver took their bag from Bill and set it down on the bed. "Are you sure this is _our room?"_

Bill nodded. "Positive Mac, this is one of 5 bedrooms, our master bedroom is a little bit bigger."

Laura pointed to two doors that were against the wall behind the bed. "Room on the left is the bathroom; room on the right is the closet."

Gillian walked down the steps and went over to the bed. "This is a beautiful room, thank you."

The couple smiled at her. "It's our pleasure, why don't you both get some rest. Laura and I are going to go run to the store to get some stuff for dinner and a few things you'll be needing."

Mac started to open his mouth and Bill pointed to him. "Fruit juice, I know Mac."

Gillian laughed. "You _do know him that well don't you?"_

Laura nodded. "Yeah we do, he's the best." 

Gillian was standing next to her husband; he put her arms around him. "On that we agree Laura." She leaned her head against his chest.

"Go on and rest now, we'll be back in a couple of hours."

The couple turned around and walked out of the room. Bill closed the doors behind them.

MacGyver moved the suitcase off of the bed; he laid down on it and sighed. "I'm not getting near my Vette for at least two days."

Gillian kicked off her sandals and climbed on top of him. "Me either." She leaned down and kissed him. "I like them Mac, they are just like you said."

He put his hands on the legs that were either side of him and rubbed them. "Great aren't they?"

She nodded. "They were really surprised about me weren't they?"

"Well they both said I was never going to settle down."

Gillian touched his face. "I don't think you have Mac. I didn't handcuff you when we got married, you didn't change your life because of me you simply added me to it."

MacGyver thought about what she said. "You're right; you could have though, very easily."

"No, I couldn't do that to you, why would I want to change you or suddenly start giving you ultimatums? I fell in love with who you are, not what I could change you into."

Mac sat up; his wife slid down him a little and ended up on his lap. He put his arms around her waist. "That's what I love about you Gill; despite everything I am you still love me."

Gillian shook her head. "Hey now, don't be talking bad about my husband." She brushed her lips against his and kissed him. She touched her forehead to his briefly. "Me too Mac, you could have easily run screaming from me and called me a freak, but you didn't. I wish I could tell you how much that has meant to me."

MacGyver looked very serious. "Don't you _ever say that about yourself, you aren't a freak, got it?"_

Gillian nodded her head. "Got it."

He put both hands on her face. "I love you Gill. I know I don't say it a lot but I do."

She smiled and touched the hands that were on her face. "I know, you don't have to say it. You show it in a lot of little ways."

Mac creased his brow. "Like what?"

"Well, the way you make a cup of hot tea for me first thing in the morning when I'm getting ready for work, or how you'll drop by my office just to see what I'm doing. Sometimes if I'm all tense or frustrated you'll stand behind me and rub my shoulders."

"But that's nothing Gill."

"It is something Mac. Do you think anyone else would care if I was tense or having a bad day or check the tires on the truck to make sure there was enough air in them? You fuss over me." She smiled at him. "And I love you so much for that."

MacGyver brought her face close to his and kissed her long and deep. He laid back and rolled them over, they were side by side. The kiss ended and Gillian glided her hand down his cheek. "There is another way you show your feelings for me."

"What way?"

She smiled at him. "The way you make love to me."

Mac nodded his head. "I think it's a good thing that Laura and Bill are going to be gone for the next couple of hours."

"Why?"

He touched his hands to her bottom of her shirt and started to lift it. "I've got a lot of affection I want to show you." Mac closed his eyes as he kissed his wife.

They were lying in the bed like spoons. They were both asleep, there was a knock at the door and Gillian woke up She lifted her husband's arm from across her waist and put her shorts and her sleeveless shirt back on. She walked over to the door and opened it, she saw Laura.

"Hi Gillian, did you guys rest?"

Gillian opened the door and pointed to the bed. Laura peeked in and saw MacGyver asleep, his chest was bare and the sheet was up to his waist. Laura shook her head. "Crashed huh?"

"Yeah, did you need any help with dinner?"

Laura nodded. "Sure I'd love some help, I'll meet you in the kitchen."

"Okay, let me go clean up and I'll be right there."

Laura left and Gillian closed the door, she went and finished getting dressed. She went into the bathroom; there was a huge cast iron tub with a shower, a white marble sink with a large mirror and a white marble toilet. She brushed her teeth and her hair and put it back in a pony tail; she left the bathroom and went to find her sandals. They were at the foot of the bed and she slipped them on and walked around the bed to her husband's side. He had turned and was now on his back, she pulled the sheet higher up on him and leaned down, she gave him a little kiss on the cheek.

Mac suddenly grabbed her around the waist and threw her down on the bed and got on top of her. "Where are you going?"

Gillian gasped, her heart was racing. "To help Laura with dinner! Are you trying to make my heart stop?"

"No." He kissed her and smiled.

"I was just going to let you sleep."

MacGyver gave her another kiss and rolled over, he got out of bed. "No, it's okay, I'm not tired."

Gillian was surprised. "Oh really? Not even a little?"

He was picking up his clothes from the floor and putting them on, he looked at her and smiled. "Well maybe a little, I'll sleep good tonight."

"Yeah I bet you will." She got off the bed and smacked him on the behind. "If I _let you."_

Mac laughed and slipped his tank top back on. "Good point."

Laura was in the kitchen. She had some steaks and was starting to marinade them, she saw MacGyver was awake, Gillian was on his back and he was giving her a piggy back ride. She smiled, her friend looked very happy and that was a relief to her, she wanted Mac to be happy.

"What's wrong with walking Gillian?"

Gillian laughed. "I find this mode of transportation a lot more fun."

She got down from his back and kissed him. "Thanks for the ride."

"Any time." He gave her a wink and looked at Laura. "Where's Bill?"

"Outside, trying to set up the new gas tank on the grill."

Mac nodded. "I better help him before he blows himself up."

The back door was right there and MacGyver opened it and went outside. 

Gillian had her hands on her hips. "Okay Laura what can I do to help?"

"Well I'm going to make some potato salad, some macaroni salad and garlic bread, take your pick."

Gillian smiled. "I make a wicked potato salad."

"Good, you can do that then. Come on over here, don't be shy."

She walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, she saw a bag of potatoes in the clear vegetable tray. She lifted the bag and took out about 8 large potatoes. "This is a great house Laura."

"Thanks, we had it custom made." She was pounding the steaks with a little meat tenderizer. 

Gillian was standing beside her, she was washing the spuds in the sink. Laura caught a glimpse of her left hand and saw the diamond ring and the gold band. "Gillian can I ask you something?"

"Sure, it's just us girls here, ask anything you want."

Laura turned towards her. "I don't mean anything by this but, how old are you?"

"How old do you think I am?"

"25?" 

Gillian laughed and smiled at her. "Thank you _so much for that Laura, that's a big compliment."_

Laura creased her brow. "Then how old are you?"

"29."

"Well you don't look it." She looked out the windows and saw Mac crouched down helping Bill with the tank. "Mac is 40 right?"

Gillian turned towards her. "I know what you are thinking and you aren't the first person that's done the math. Yes he is 11 years older than me, we both know that, but you know something Laura? I honestly don't care; I would still feel the same way about him if we were 25 years apart."

That made Laura smile widely. "You really love him a lot don't you?"

Gillian caught a glimpse of him outside and she nodded. "Mac is my Baby, and I'm absolutely crazy about him."

"How long have you two been married?"

"At the end of this month will be our first anniversary, I really have double jeopardy this month. Mac's birthday is March 23 and our anniversary is March 30th."

"How did you end up doing it that way?"

"Actually I had planned for us to be married at the end of April but when I sprung it on Mac he didn't want to wait that long."

"You got married in LA?"

"No, St. Thomas."

Laura was surprised. "The Virgin Islands?"

"Yeah, it was great. I started planning the day after Mac proposed to me and it took a whole month of straight planning to get it done."

Laura sighed and shook her head. "I still can't believe that MacGyver is married. I thought Hell would freeze over before I saw a gold band on his finger."

"It didn't happen right away Laura; on the year anniversary of us meeting he proposed and gave me this."

She wiped her hands off on a dishtowel and showed her the engagement ring.

Laura rinsed her hands really fast and looked at the ring. "Nice taste Mac, it's gorgeous." She also looked at the band and saw the same design of her engagement ring carved into it. "Did he get the bands?"

"No I did, they're from Scotland. He and I hadn't really talked about the wedding, he mentioned it once and that was it. I planned everything out and at his birthday party I got down on my knees, showed him the two gold rings and asked him if he would go to St. Thomas with me and marry me a month later."

"And he said yes."

Gillian laughed. "Actually Laura he said no."

This surprised the blond woman. "He said no?"

"Believe me I was so stunned. I couldn't believe that he had said no, my heart was breaking and I remember looking down at the floor. He lifted my chin up and said I think next week would be better, then he grinned at me. Oh I wanted to strangle him for scaring me like that; in fact I shook his shoulders."

Laura shook her head. "Now that sounds like Mac." She continued pounding the steaks with the hammer. "What was St. Thomas like?"

"Gorgeous, we had the top floor penthouse all to ourselves for two weeks. We did some site seeing, a little shopping, a little exploring but not much. We stayed in the penthouse most of the time."

MacGyver came back inside and leaned against the counter that was on the other side of where the two women were. "What are you two doing in here?"

"I'm making potato salad and Laura is getting the steaks ready."

Laura nodded. "Gillian was telling me about St. Thomas."

"That was a nice place, we had a lot of fun, but there is another place I've always wanted to visit.

This made Gillian rather curious. "Yeah? Where?"

"I have always wanted to see Hawaii, maybe we'll go there one day, right Gill?"

"Yeah maybe we will."

_"Hey Mac get out here and help me with this thing!"_

Bill called out to him and he shook his head. "That's my cue; I think Bill is ready for my help now." He left the kitchen and Gillian nodded.

"Hawaii huh, we can do that."

Laura scoffed. "That place is a fortune Gillian."

"Oh I'm not worried about it Laura, we have plenty of money."

"You do? Do you mind if I ask from where?"

"No, not at all. Well we both work for the Phoenix Foundation, you knew that."

"Yeah I knew that Mac did."

"And have you ever heard of Mac Enterprises?"

Laura stopped what she was doing. "MacKenzie Enterprises? Yeah, who hasn't, that company is huge."

Gillian smiled. "My maiden name is MacKenzie."

The blond woman's eyes got big. "It's yours?"

"Yeah, my father started it. I inherited it not too long ago. Mac and I are the CEO's, our Vice President runs it, we just make the major decisions."

Laura was shocked. "That is amazing, no wonder you could afford to rent a penthouse for two weeks."

"Duncan takes care of everything, after my parents died he ran it for 10 years, then I found out it was mine. We just let him continue to run things; he's pretty brilliant when it comes to business. Mac came home from a bike ride one day and I dropped the bomb on him about the company now belonging to me."

"How'd he take it?"

"Good after the shock wore off."

Gillian opened a drawer and found the potato peeler. "Is there a garbage disposal in the sink?"

Laura nodded. "It's that switch over there."

"Okay." She started peeling the potatoes to make the salad. 

Bill and MacGyver had gotten the new gas tank hooked up to the grill. The two men fired it up and while it got warm everyone went inside and changed into their swim suits. The pool was pretty big, it was a giant rectangle that was made of white and blue tile, it was 8 feet in the middle. Laura had on a green bikini top and a scarf tied around her waist, it looked like she had on a red flowered skirt. There were white wooden chaise lounges around the pool and she was on one. 

MacGyver and Gillian were also sitting on one. Gillian was wearing her red bikini, with her white t-shirt over it; she was sitting between her husband's legs. Mac had put on his red trunks and had his white tank top on. Bill was in his dark blue trunks and a white muscle shirt over it, he wore the shirt for protection against the hot grill.

Gillian was looking down at the sparkling water. Mac had his legs up and she was rubbing them. "Say Mac care to go for a dip?"

Mac took off his shades and set them down. "Okay, let's go."

Gillian lifted her t-shirt over her head and he took his tank top off, they stood on the edge of the pool and looked into the water. 

"Mac you know how I made you promise not to throw me into a pool ever again?"

MacGyver nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, I decided to cancel that promise."

He turned towards his wife and looked at her. "Really? Why?"

"So I can do this." Gillian put her hands on her husband's back and pushed him into the pool; he went in head first and came up fast, shaking his head out. "That's it; you are going to get it."

He came up the stairs and Gillian laughed, she ran over to Bill and hid behind him. "Bill you are my friend right?"

Bill was putting steaks on the hot grill. "Yeah Gill, I'm your friend."

Mac was trying to walk around him but she kept moving from side to side. She could see that her husband was not happy and she was really in for it. "So you'll protect me won't you?"

Bill laughed. "Now you two don't put me in the middle of this."

"You _are in the middle of this Bill, literally."_

Bill shook his head. "Sorry Darling, Mac is my best friend. I can't stand against him." He stepped aside and looked at his dripping wet best friend. "Get her Mac."

Gillian gasped and ran away from him. She ran all way to the other side of the yard, the fence was there, she was trapped. Laura turned around and shook her head.

"Oh you're cornered now Gillian."

MacGyver stood in front of her; there was a wicked gleam in his eyes. "Nowhere to go Gill, you're mine."

Gillian put both of her hands out. "Now Mac, be reasonable, it was all in good fun."

He took a few steps closer to her and she swallowed hard. "I don't suppose it would do any good to beg for mercy?"

Mac shook his head. "No, I'm not going to show you any mercy."

He took another few steps and she looked at him with her big brown eyes. "I love you."

"I know but that won't get you out of this."

"Can you at least offer me a cigarette and a blindfold?"

"You don't smoke."

Finally he was practically on top of her; she covered her eyes with her hands and waited for her doom. When it didn't come she uncovered them and saw him standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, he turned and looked at his friends. "I can't do it. She looks so scared and pathetic, I can't do it!"

Gillian breathed a sigh of relief. "Really?"

Mac nodded and then turned back towards her. "But I am sure going to try!"

He grabbed her wrist and flung her over his shoulders. He walked over to the pool and lifted her off of his shoulders and threw her into the water. 

Gillian screamed as she hit the water and went underneath it. 

Laura was laughing; she shook her head at the couple's antics. "You two are too much."

Mac laughed, he was waiting for Gill to come back to the surface but she didn't. He creased his brow and crouched down.

Gillian was on the bottom of the pool; she looked up and saw her husband was near the edge, she was waiting to get even. MacGyver leaned forward looking for any sign of his wife.

Gillian saw him leaning forward; she pushed herself off of the bottom of the pool with her feet and sprang out of the water. She grabbed him around the waist and pulled him down into the water with her. 

They broke the surface and Gillian her arms around her husband's neck, she kissed him. "Did I scare you?"

MacGyver smoothed back his hair. "No, I just wondered where you had gone."

She gave him another kiss. "What do you say we call a truce and enjoy the water instead of trying to throw each other into it?"

"Truce." Mac gave his wife a kiss and touched her forehead to hers, they both started laughing.

Bill cleared his throat and crouched down. "Okay how do you guys like your steak?"

Gillian shrugged. "Medium I guess."

MacGyver wiped the water from his face. "As long as it isn't mooing or like shoe leather it's fine."

"Okay then you both better dry off, they're almost done."

Laura had gone into the house and came back out with two large white towels. "Here are some towels."

Gillian walked up the stairs first and took it from her. "Thank you Laura." She put it around her shoulders and started drying off.

MacGyver walked up the stairs and his friend handed him a towel. "Thanks Laura."

"Sure."

They both dried themselves off pretty well and put their clothes back over their swimsuits.

The back porch was enclosed, it was totally in the shade and that's where the table was. Gillian and Laura came out carrying the large bowls of potato salad, macaroni salad and the garlic bread. The two men came out with glasses filled with ice and a fresh jug of sun tea. Everyone sat down and Bill started passing out the steaks, he plopped one on Gillian's plate. "Wow, now that is a big piece of cow."

"Tennessee beef Gill, it's going to melt in your mouth."

Bill served one to her husband across from her; he looked at the huge steak. "It's going to take me three days to eat this steak."

"It will not Mac, you'll probably eat at least half of it."

Gillian served herself some potato salad and passed it to her husband. "Here you go Sweetie."

"Thanks." He put a spoonful on his plate and gave it to Bill, who was beside him.

Laura passed the macaroni salad to Gillian. "Can I have the bread Mac?"

"Sure." He took a piece out and passed the bowl to Laura.

Bill had a sip of his tea. "Gillian may I please have the pepper?"

Gillian wiped her mouth and passed it to him. "Sure, here you go."

"Thank you." He used it and set it down on the table, he looked at Gillian; he thought she was very nice. "Mac where ever did you find this very polite young lady?"

MacGyver was in the middle of a bite, he waited until he was finished before answering him. "At the Phoenix Foundation, Pete hired her to work as an archaeologist."

"You're an archaeologist Gillian?"

"Yeah I am Bill, got my Bachelor's and Master's."

Laura started to laugh. "How long after meeting did you two start seeing each other? If you don't mind me asking."

Gillian shook her head. "I don't mind, do you Mac?"

"No go ahead and tell them." He was enjoying his steak. "This is really good Bill."

"Well we were friends first, so it was a good couple of months before we became a couple."  Gillian shook her head. "If it hadn't been for London I don't think we would have gotten together."

MacGyver wiped his mouth. "You do realize that our anniversary is coming up."

Gillian looked surprised. "It is? Really?" He made a face at her and she gave him a wink. "Of course I know it's coming up."

Bill ate a bite of potato salad. "This is really good potato salad Gillian; it's almost as good as my wife's."

Laura laughed. "He's only saying that because he knows he'd be in trouble if he didn't."

Gillian took a piece of garlic bread from the bowl. "I want to thank both of you for inviting us up here. We've only been here most of the day and it's already been a lot of fun."

Laura smiled at the young woman and touched her hand. "You're welcome, maybe some time we can come to California."

"We'd both really like that."

Mac turned to his friend and motioned to them with his head. "Girls, they're so nice to each other."

Bill nodded. "Oh I know." He suddenly grabbed Mac around his neck and brought his head down; he gave him a knuckle noogie. "See they would never do this to one another!"

MacGyver laughed and pried his friend's arm from around his neck and rubbed his head. "Yeah."

Gillian shook her head.  "And you make that sound like a bad thing."

MacGyver and Gillian were in bed, it was after 11 o'clock. They had just gone to bed, the two couples had stayed outside for the rest of the evening just talking and getting to know each other. Bill and Laura really wanted to get to know Gillian. She was married to their best friend and they wanted to be as close to her as they were to MacGyver.

"Gill? Are you tired?"

Gillian was lying flat on her back, she turned towards her husband. "No Mac, I thought I would be exhausted but I'm not."

"Me either." He turned towards her and propped himself up on one elbow. "Have you thought about our anniversary?"

"Yeah I have actually."

"What do you want to do? First anniversaries are special."

Gillian turned towards him and smiled. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about; do you remember me telling you about my parent's house?"

Mac creased his brow. "No, what house?"

"Mac I know I told you about their house on Kauai. I told you the day I found out I inherited ME."

"You said a lot of things that day Gillian. You dropped a bomb on me, my shorts could have been on fire that day and I wouldn't have remembered."

Gillian sighed; she had surprised him with a lot of stuff that day. "Okay, my parents have a house on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai; it's pretty big and right on the beach. The whole west side of the island belongs to my parents. When they died Duncan liquidated everything else but that."

MacGyver looked at his wife. "So they have a house in Hawaii."

"In the state yes but not on the big Island."

"What does that have to do with our anniversary?"

Gillian smiled and touched her husband's face. "Well, I was thinking that we can go there for our anniversary. You said earlier you wanted go see Hawaii, this would be your chance."

MacGyver shrugged. "I don't know Gill; I think we should really do something special for our anniversary, going to another island so soon after St. Thomas doesn't seem all that special."

"Well it was _just an idea Mac; you said you wanted to see Hawaii."_

"I do but not now, maybe next time we have a vacation we'll go."

"So what do you want to do then?"

Mac sighed. "Well I don't know, but I'd like to think about it and come up with something nice. Will you let me decide since you took care of the wedding?"

Gillian smiled at her husband. "Of course, I trust you completely you know that."

He laid back down and took her left hand, he was touching her ring gently. "I can't believe it's almost been a whole year Gill, where did the time go?"

"I wish I knew Mac, it's hard to believe."

Gillian was beside her husband and stretched out on top of him, she put her head on his chest. "I don't think we should get each other any presents Mac, just being together should be present enough."

MacGyver put his hands on his wife's back and rubbed it. "You're right, it is."

Gillian sighed, her husband's hands touching her made her feel safe. "How long are we going to stay here Mac?"

"Probably at least two weeks, that's what I told them."

"And then where are we going to go?"

Mac shrugged. "Good question. We got a car and a map, we'll find someplace to go with the rest of our time off."

She lifted her head and looked at him. "Yeah we will, I look forward to the rest of our adventure."

MacGyver smiled at her. "So do I Gill."

The couple gave each other a kiss and settled down for the night.  


End file.
